Beaches of Hong Kong

A Mid-Autumn Festival celebration turned to tragedy at Shek O Beach yesterday when an 18-year-old youth was swept away by a wave in the early morning and was still missing last night - most likely the 10th drowning this year.

Black paint was splashed on the shutter of a fruit stall that opened last week in Un Chau Street, Cheung Sha Wan. The front gate of a boutique next door was also splashed with the paint in the attack at 4am.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen is expected to announce steps in his policy address to speed up the reuse of old industrial buildings in districts like Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan to boost the development of creative industries.

It is one of the measures being considered to develop the arts into one of the six new economic 'pillars' to diversify the city's economy.

Police arrested 14 people aged 28 to 58 and seized HK$60 million in betting slips in raids on sites in Kwai Chung, Cheung Sha Wan and Tuen Mun. A spokesman said it was the largest bust of an online gambling syndicate in years. Officers seized HK$150,000 in cash, computers and betting records. All those arrested belonged to the Wo Shing Wo triad society, police said.

A guard attempted suicide hours after he injured three colleagues on an estate in Cheung Sha Wan yesterday morning. Police said the guard, 52, inflicted minor head injuries on his colleagues with a cutter and crowbar and left the Caldecott Road estate at about 12.30am. He called police at about 4am saying he was going to jump off a flyover.

The son of 'God of Racing' Jim Chong-shing was jailed yesterday for assaulting a family after they stared at him in October. Kwun Tong Deputy Magistrate Daniel Tang Siu-hung sentenced Chong, 24, a car racer, to 15 months in prison for inflicting grievous bodily harm, among other offences. He and five other males attacked a couple and the man's elderly father in Cheung Sha Wan.

The Association for Geoconservation is extremely disappointed that the environmental impact assessment, as usual, has not seriously considered the geological impact of the proposed offshore wind farm in Hong Kong's southeastern waters.

Two people were killed when hit by minibuses in separate accidents in Cheung Sha Wan and Central yesterday. Police were investigating whether they had been jaywalking. One of the drivers was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving causing death.

A 21-year-old Indonesian domestic helper jumped to her death from a Cheung Sha Wan flat yesterday after being sacked. Peni, who had worked for the family since last month but who was sacked several days ago for poor performance, was found on the podium of the Pacifica Tower 2 at 8.50am, shortly after her boss saw her making breakfast in the flat. She was confirmed dead at the scene.

The body of 36-year-old Mak Hoi-cheong, who was washed away on Friday while swimming at Big Wave Bay Beach during the No9 typhoon warning, was found off Siu Sai Wan yesterday. Marine police were called at about 10am when a woman on a sampan spotted the body floating off Cape Collinson, about 2km from the beach. The body was identified by the man's younger brother.

After the wettest month on record, and then yet more rain, the sun's belated appearance means it's finally time to hit the beach. There are many beautiful beaches in Hong Kong, both big and small, remote and easily accessible, quiet and crowded.